The cooling of electronics components in convection cooling applications is typically achieved using a fluid velocity source to direct a fluid about a heat sink associated with one or more electronic components. The fluid draws heat away from the heat sink, which in turn draws heat from any associated electronic component. The fluid may be a gas, such as air, which is directed by the velocity source, which may be a fan. The fan generally directs the air to flow along a predetermined path about the heat sink. The heat sink must therefore be positioned to co-operate with a particular air flow path in order to cool electronic components associated with the heat sink.
A typical installation may include a substrate upon which one or more electronic components are mounted. The substrate may then be mounted within an enclosure having air inlets and outlets to permit the removal warm air from within the enclosure. Air flow through the enclosure is encouraged by a fan. A heat sink is mounted to the substrate or the electronic components, and is used to encourage the transfer of heat generated by the electronic components to the air to be carried to the exterior of the enclosure. Pressure is preferably maintained at the interface between the heat sink and the electronic component to encourage thermal transfer therebetween. However, it can be difficult to ensure that such pressure is evenly maintained at the interface.
To promote this heat transfer, the heat sink has one or more fins to increase the surface area thereof. The fins are generally aligned so that the air flow is directed therethrough. The air flow pathway is often determined by the location of the inlets and outlets of the enclosure, and the location of the fan.
Once mounted, the orientation of the heat sink may generally not be modified without removing and re-mounting the heat sink. If securing screws for a heat sink are arranged at the vertexes of a square, then the heat sink may be removed, rotated 90 degrees, and reattached. However, the possible orientations of the heat sink is limited to four (i.e., four turns of 90 degrees each). Many arrangements of the prior art are limited in that they permit the mounting of the heat sink in one position only.
When mass produced, heat sinks are often pre-mounted to a substrate before installation within an enclosure. If the heat sink is not located within the air flow path generated by the fan, thermal-transfer from the heat sink may be sub-optimal. This arrangement may be remedied by removing and re-mounting the heat sink to align the fins of the heat sink with the flow of air generated by the fan. This remedy can increase the time and expense required to install the heat sink, and may not even be possible if suitable alternative mounting locations are not available on the substrate or electronic components. To accommodate different configurations of electronic components and fans, differently configured heat sinks are manufactured. This can increase manufacturing and inventory costs because specialized heat sinks need to be manufactured for different applications. If installations of electronic components require a non-standard orientation of the heat sink then addition effort and expense may need to be expended to fashion a solution.
The foregoing creates challenges for heat dissipation in the design and manufacture of assemblies of electronic components. Accordingly, there is a need for an alternative heat sink as compared to the existing art.